Iron Man 2 Set Visit Preview

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IGN gets a look behind the scenes of the Marvel sequel.

By Jim Vejvoda

[Please be advised that this article is potentially spoiler-ish for some.] IGN Movies visited the set of Iron Man 2 on an uncharacteristically rainy day in Los Angeles this past June. While on-set at Raleigh Studios in Manhattan Beach, we spoke at length with star Robert Downey Jr., director Jon Favreau, and Marvel Studios honcho Kevin Feige about the sequel, which just wrapped this month.

The majority of our set visit was spent in Tony Stark's new and improved workshop/lab. The entire floor is made of shiny, dark glass -- which required visitors to wear booties over their shoes so as to not scuff it up -- that, in the film, will project holographic images and schematics throughout the lab for Stark to interact with. In the far side of the workshop is the armory where Tony's Iron Man suits are stored. Curiously, one of them was missing, a mystery that wasn't solved until it was revealed at San Diego Comic-Con that Don Cheadle will be wearing a modified version of it as War Machine.

The first scene we observed being shot that had Tony examining a miniature model of the 1974 Stark Expo, a cross between Macworld and the 1964 World's Fair if it had been staged by the late Howard Stark (played by Mad Men's John Slattery). Howard hid something of great value on the grounds way back when and now Tony desperately needs to find it. "The key to the future is ... where?," Downey asked in character take after take as the camera swooped over the miniature and settled on his scrutinizing face.

Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) looks over a model of the 1974 Stark Expo; click for more images from Iron Man 2.

The next scene we observed had Tony interacting with his A.I. servant Jarvis. Downey pantomimed using the Minority Report-esque holographic computer display seen in the first film as someone off-camera voiced Jarvis' lines (Paul Bettany voiced Jarvis in the first film). Tony is closing in on the hidden item (the "key" he spoke of in the previous scene) as he feverishly scours the holographic layout of the Stark Expo grounds.

The biggest surprise we had on set wasn't even on the schedule for us to see, but Marvel and Favreau were kind enough to arrange for us to meet Scarlett Johansson in costume as the sexy spy Black Widow. She had been filming second unit stuntwork on a nearby soundstage when she graciously took a few moments out to chitchat with us. As you can now tell from the newly released photos, Scarlett is ridiculously hot as Black Widow. She was even more jaw-dropping in person.

Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow.

Without giving too much away, there are two interconnected personal crises that Tony is dealing with in Iron Man 2 (and alcoholism isn't one of them): Tony's lingering father issues and an energy crisis of some sort. The shadow of Tony's celebrated, brilliant father -- a man who helped America win World War II and stay armed during the Cold War -- looms over the entire film. Howard's past somehow holds the key to Tony's future. (Tony isn't the only character with daddy issues; Mickey Rourke's Ivan "Whiplash" Vanko also has them. Vanko and Stark are two sides of the same coin; Vanko even has a famous scientist father, Anton.)